‘It’s been great, but I’m retiring': David Letterman to bring talk show to an end

David Letterman will host his final Late Show in 2015 (Picture: Getty Images)

It’s the end of an era on US TV – after talk show host David Letterman announced his retirement.

Letterman – who has been a staple of the late night talk show circuit for over three decades – broke the news to the audience at a recording of The Late Show on Thursday, saying he planned to step aside in 2015.

“The man who owns this network, Leslie Moonves, he and I have had a relationship for years and years and years, and we have had this conversation in the past, and we agreed that we would work together on this circumstance and the timing of this circumstance,’ Letterman explained.

I phoned him just before the program, and I said “It’s been great, you’ve been great, and the network has been great, but I’m retiring”.’

He added: ‘We don’t have the timetable for this precisely down – I think it will be at least a year or so, but sometime in the not too distant future, 2015 for the love of God, in fact, I will be wrapping things up.’

Letterman has been a staple of the talk show circuit since the 1980s (Picture: Getty Images)

News of Letterman’s retirement spawned the inevitable reaction on Twitter, with celebrities among the first to pay thrie respects to the presenter.

‘Television won’t be the same without you, Dave,’ Ellen DeGeneres admitted, while former Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles said: So disappointed to hear David Letterman has announced his retirement…My generation’s King of late night.’

Meanwhile fellow talk show host Jimmy Kimmel described Letterman as ‘the best there is and ever was,’ while Lena Dunham added: ‘Obvi will miss Letterman and his gorgeous tooth scenario/general brilliance.